Police and emergency crews have responded to hundreds of accidents in several states leaving cars stranded, dozens of pileups and major traffic jams. In addition, thousands of flights were canceled.

Weather

This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>>hour, the real urgency is being felt across a huge stretch of our country in the
deep south
. a rare and unusual snow and ice event. some bad
winter weather
in cities and towns not equipped to handle it, from
east texas
on up through louisiana, new orleans, mississippi and alabama where the
national guard
's been called out. georgia, including atlanta right on up through the carolinas. 140 million americans are living under some sort of weather watch or warning tonight. and while snowfall is one thing, some cities are icing over this evening. it's where we begin our coverage with our meteorologist
dylan
dreyer.

>> reporter: these subfreezing, icy and dangerous road conditions are wreaking havoc tonight, particularly in atlanta. and they're only expected to get worse. police and emergency crews have already responded to hundreds of accidents in several states. with cars stranded, dozens of pileups, major traffic jams, and roads that quickly became impassable. folks stepping in respond with some muscle power. while we're accustomed to
winter weather
affecting winter travel along i-95, this storm is shifting the misery to i-10, where today entire sections had to be shut down opinion hours before the storm,
snow plow
drivers geared up for battle. their armada much smaller than their northern neighbors. where cities like chicago and minneapolis have hundreds of plows. columbia,
south carolina
has nine. this
cold front
is leaving air travelers stranded. more than 3,000 flights were cancel add cross the country and nearly 6,000 delayed. of the five airports hit hardest, four are in the south. at
louis armstrong
international in new orleans, flights were grounded all together. many southern officials are urging people to be vigilant with messages so similar they could have been finishing each other's sentences.

>>we're not used to this significant ice and sleet and snow that we're experiencing today.

>>we're recommending that people stay off of the roadways.

>>now is not the time to take any unnecessary risk or any unnecessary trips.

>> reporter: in the south, the
school day
was cancelled or cut short in many states. for those that were in session, getting students home was tricky. in
metro atlanta
,
cherokee county
schools suspended
bus service
this afternoon, telling parents who couldn't pick up their kids, students who are at school will remain until the roads are safer. adding, the district is prepared to shelter students as necessary. some students at
georgia tech
had never seen snow at all, until today. enjoying the bitter blast that has the south feeling more like the north. coping with the winter that continues to have an unrelenting icy grip on much of the country. this storm has turned deadly in mississippi today, where authorities say a family was trying to stay warm when a
space heater
caught fire. killing four people, including two young children. brian?